I have come back to McHenry, Illinois for a visit. I grew up in McHenry but have not lived here since 1978. To give you some perspective, I can remember the census when I was growing up being around 2,000. I think it is now around 20,000. Needless to say, I grew up in a small town.
Much of the old part of town looks the same on the outside. The buildings are the same but the name of the businesses have changed. Gone is the Ben Franklin, 5 & 10 cent store. I wonder what ever happened to "Frenchie?" I never knew what her real name was, that is just the name we had given her. She used to watch kids like a hawk, peering around the corner, trying to catch a kid shoplifting. Bolgers drug store is not longer there and Baskin and Robbins is long gone but the building is still there.
A few of the stores are still where they always have been. Riverside Bakery is still there. It is the best bakery in the world. A vanilla long john and a chocolate donut are always at least one morning breakfast when I come back into town. Then there is Bimbo's, a restaurant. The owners have changed but the place and he menu are much the same. Of course that is the second must place to eat when I am in town.
Coming back to McHenry is always an enjoyable experience. It always seems so different. In many ways it seems like only yesterday that I lived her. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago.
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